Sheckler..an Icon in skateboarding? Really? Tony Hawk? Lance Mountain? Hosio? Not really an ICON.....They should have interviewed Jason Ellis..he's the guy you can kinda hear introducing Pastrana. He'd have more insight than just..."anything with an engine...blah, blah, blah" Pastrana will do well when he's in the car. The guy is gifted.

Why I Ride: The only way to explain it is to ask..."do you remember the feeling of the first time you were riding w/o training wheels?" I get that feeling every single time I ride!!! Bicycles to me have always represented FRIENDSHIP, FREEDOM and FUN. I can remember the first time I rode all the way to LBS Caster's w my friend Claro and his brothers...what an epic!!!

Riding my bike connected to my friends who didn't live in my neighborhood and more recently to people all over New England. Be it riding to Crompton or all the way to Coventry or Riding at Diablo on Memorial Day weekend, riding my bike has brought many friends to my life. Jim Marsh and I met because he had a Freestylin' Magazine and I had to read it! 20 + yrs later and he's god father to both my sons. I've always made friends thru cycling: Anthony Alessandro, Mike Feeney, Glenn Davis, Brendan Cahill and Adam King! Just to name a few. Some have shown me anything is possible on a bike. Some have given me advice on being a dad/husband. Others just make you laugh over and over again, even though they ride weird bikes. Good people! Great friends! Lifelong friends! I'm a better person for knowing them.

The freedom of riding is awesome! Rolling thru the woods, on the road or on the track. Your actions dictate the outcome of your ride. Pedal too fast into a corner and you're off the trail. Start out too fast and you're exhausted before you know it. Don't change gears for a climb and you're not gonna make it. Those all seem like good metaphors for life. Go to fast and you're off course. Move too quickly in a relationship and burnout. Don't change to adapt to your job and, well, you're not gonna make it! Freedom, also, in the fact that you can clear your mind of whatever bullshit is going on in your world and focus only on what's in front you. Whenever things have gotten crappy in my life, simply going for a ride helps me to refocus on what needs to be done. Riding with my son after we've had a rough time can smooth things out for both of us. "daddy look how fast I'm going!!!" Makes me happy that I've passed down (for now) my love of all things bicycles. Freedom ,also, to be alone when I need to be free of everything.

In my opinion, nothing is more fun than riding a bike!!! The fun you can have w your friends right in your driveway...Slow races, Longest wheelies, and highest bunny hop. FUN, FUN, FUN!!! Having your kid ask you to take off their training wheels...THINK OF THE FUN ABOUT TO HAPPEN!!! Riding the 100ft long trail w my son as he zooms down the hill....FUN. Hanging out for a weekend at your favorite lift access mountain in a condo w your friends.....FUN OF EPIC PROPORTIONS! !!! Sitting on a deck overlooking a lake, eating a great dinner and drinking w friends and their family... FUN. Working on my bike in the garage, excited about the FUN to be had riding the next day...FUN. Rolling around the driveway w Aidan on an "track" built w beach buckets, baseball bats and other toys.....NOTHING COULD BE MORE FUN THAN THIS. Seeing my son lift his front wheel and say "dad! look at my wheelie!!!" and smile huge as he does it....FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN and a wicked burning sense of pride inside. FUN